Are We Really Free? Why Free Markets are ESSENTIAL to Free People.

Free Markets are born out of Free People.  If we want to remain free people we must embrace free markets.  Why is that?

Well, what does it mean to be a free human being?  Our founders gave us a few ideas but you can boil it down to our RIGHT to private property.  What is private property?

Private Property

Physical Property (land & possessions)

The Body Property (your physical being and labor)

Property of the Mind (your intelligence, your beliefs, your conscience or religion)

Any attempt by government to control our Physical, Body or Mind Property is an erosion of our natural right to private property.  If we want to be truly free than we must limit the ability of a central authority to dictate how we are to make use of our private property.  Otherwise … at some point we lose our freedom and become slaves.

So imagine a bunch of free people running around town not being manipulated, forced or coerced by a government entity regarding their private property – how does society interact?  Well we certainly don’t sit in caves and rock back in forth all day!  We have dreams, desires, ambitions, physical needs and wants.  In addition we have a immediate, central driving ambition ...the survival instinct.  We MUST put a roof over our heads and feed ourselves and our families in order to survive.

So out of free men and their desire to not only survive but THRIVE - will emerge the free exchange of each man’s private property.  We work to survive and we TRADE our skills to live better and happier!  Some people excel at literature and the arts, others are great at baking or entertaining, some love math and science.  And because most people would rather spend their days doing the things they love and are interested in they specialize in the areas that they excel! 

Therefore … you will eventually have free men trading their private property in order to survive and pursue happiness with their lives.

So what do they trade?

Free Market Trade

Can exchange physical property … buying or selling land or goods

Can exchange body property … voluntary exchange of labor for cash/goods

Can exchange mind property … voluntary exchange of creativity, ingenuity or innovation

Despite what you may have learned in college humanities ... free markets are NOT huge corporations, greedy investors, shady derivative markets or crony capitalists.  They are very simply the conditions that exist when free men voluntarily exchange their private property.  Free markets are the ONLY natural extension of free men. 

Now that doesn't mean that you don’t have certain laws and systems that can be instituted by a community of people to protect the right of men to freely trade their private property.  Or that free markets cannot be corrupted with liars, cheaters and manipulators.  But the “problems” of a free market are not inherent in the system.  They are the problems (greed, lust for power, hatred or jealousy) that have plagued the world since the beginning of time.

Understanding the necessity of some, very limited government involvement in the area of trade we must always acknowledge that government manipulations and invasions in the free market are always at the expense of our personal freedoms.  The act of giving public funds to one free citizen that is deemed to be poor, must always involve the confiscation of private property from another free citizen. 

We can certainly debate whether or not governments should be empowered to confiscate the private property of its citizens for "public welfare".  However, we must all acknowledge the fact that any government involvement or attempt to control/manipulate the free markets represents an erosion of our natural rights & freedoms.  

Let's always consider that when we empower our government to engage in charity!